A typical gear shift mechanism of an automotive vehicle has a rotary detent plate for shifting the transmission into any one of several positions including, for example, “park”, “reverse”, “neutral”, “drive”, and “low”. The detent plate is rotated manually by a driver of the vehicle who moves a gear shift level to the desired position and this movement is transferred to the detent plate.
A detent spring is provided to accurately locate the detent plate.
The detent spring is usually mounted by a pair of fasteners which must be spaced apart far enough to ensure that the detent spring is accurately and precisely located. A problem arises when there is not sufficient available space for the two fasteners.